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As the health care bill stumbles towards the finish line, it's painfully obvious that some lawmakers just play the game much better than others, writes Eugene Robinson. Nancy Pelosi's a master, having delivered a House bill with nearly everything the president wanted despite the Republicans and Blue Dogs. and Joe Lieberman's so adept that he seems to be able to make demands just for the sake of it, Robinson writes in the Washington Post.

Republicans in the House and Senate are no slouches either, having managed to successfully keep a united front against almost all Democratic efforts. Harry Reid—who has succeeded only in making a bad situation worse—belongs firmly in the "can't play" column. President Obama, meanwhile, should have taken heed of former Mets manager Casey Stengel's saying: "The secret of managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided."